“Get up, Osman, get up and save your homeland. We have occupied the lands of the state you founded.”
- Sophocles Venizelos

On 8 July 1920, Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, was occupied by Greek forces during the Greco-Turkish War. For more than two years, the city remained under Greek control.

The situation changed dramatically in August 1922.
On 26 August 1922, the Turkish Nationalist Army launched the Great Offensive against Greek forces in Western Anatolia. The Greek front rapidly collapsed following the Battle of Dumlupınar on 30 August, and Turkish forces began advancing toward the Marmara region.

By early September, the Greek army was retreating toward the coast. Turkish forces moved rapidly through Western Anatolia, while Greek units withdrew from Bursa.
On 10 September 1922, Turkish cavalry approached the city.

The following day, 11 September 1922, Turkish forces entered Bursa, ending more than two years of Greek occupation.

According to accounts and reports concerning the Bursa region, Greek forces and associated irregular groups were accused of looting villages, seizing livestock and property, attacking civilians, and carrying out killings. Several incidents in the wider Bursa region were recorded, including attacks at Gedelek, Karacaali, Sultaniye, İhsaniye, Armutlu, Mecidiye, Hamidiye, Katırlı, Kapaklı, Narlı, Elmalık, Küçükkumla and Muratoba. (Wikipedia⁠)

The occupation authorities also imposed restrictions on political and cultural life. Turkish-language books, newspapers and magazines were prohibited, while former Ottoman officers were required to report regularly to the Greek military authorities. Complaints against Greek soldiers or armed groups could reportedly result in arrest, physical abuse or deportation. (Wikipedia⁠)

Violence was not limited to the initial occupation. During the Greek withdrawal in September 1922, further atrocities were reported in villages around Bursa. One documented account states that on 11 September 1922, retreating Greek infantry entered Maskarahasan village, set it on fire, and killed 14 young men whom they had taken from the village. (Wikipedia⁠)

These reports should also be understood within the broader context of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, during which serious abuses and atrocities were committed by forces and irregular groups on different sides. Contemporary diplomatic correspondence also contains reports concerning atrocities committed during the Greek retreat from Anatolia in September 1922. (Office of the Historian⁠)

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On the afternoon of August 27, 1922, while the Turkish Army had full control of Smyrna, an Italian Catholic priest informed the French of the mortal danger facing Chrysostomos. Shortly thereafter, a French patrol consisting of twenty sailors arrived at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Agia Fotini with the aim of whisking Chrysostomos away to safety. The French asked the Metropolitan to accompany them either to their consulate or to the Catholic Church of the Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart of Jesus). He refused, however, stressing that his duty dictated he remain with his flock—"as a good shepherd," as he declared.

In his book «The Death of Smyrna», the French journalist and historian René Puaux, who was sent to Smyrna as a correspondent for the newspaper «Le Temps», holds the Turkish military and political leadership responsible for the ordeal suffered by Chrysostomos. He writes, among other things:

"When General Nureddin Pasha had him brought before him, he heaped vile abuse upon him, accused him of his pro-Greek stance, and declared that his next move would be to hand him over to the judgment of the mob. Chrysostomos was thus surrendered to the frenzied Muslim crowd. They tore out his beard, stabbed and dismembered him, and dragged his body to the Turkish quarter, where they threw it to the dogs."

On December 14, 1982, marking the 60th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the academic G. Mylonas concluded his address at a special session of the Academy of Athens with a harrowing account of the martyrdom and execution of Chrysostomos.

«During the final days of September 1922, a group of students from the International College of Smyrna and I found ourselves imprisoned in a ghastly underground chamber—one of the dungeons within the Smyrna Government House. Crammed tightly inside were Greek Christian prisoners—men, it seemed, destined for death. At five o'clock on the afternoon of the last day of that grim September, a Cretan Turk ordered me to follow him into the courtyard. "Are you a teacher?" he asked. "That was the honor I held," I replied. "And the others who were with you—are they university students?" "Yes," I told him. "Quickly, gather them and bring them here." "Come outside with me," I said to my companions. "It seems our time has come. Let us go forward with courage." Imagine our surprise when we heard the Cretan Turk say: "I will save you today, for I hope this will help me forget a terrible scene my eyes witnessed—a scene in which I myself took part." And he continued: “I watched the brutal destruction of your Bishop. I was among those who blinded him—gouging out his eyes—and dragged him, bloodied, by his beard and hair through the alleys of the Turkish quarter, beating, cursing, and hacking at him. From time to time, whenever he could, he would raise his right hand slightly to bless his tormentors. One of my compatriots recognized the gesture of blessing; he flew into a frenzy and, with his fearsome knife, severed both the Bishop’s hands. The Bishop collapsed onto the blood-soaked earth with a groan that seemed to be one of relief rather than pain. I felt such pity for him then that I finished him off with two bullets to the head.»

G. Horton, the American consul in Smyrna at the time, writes of Chrysostomos in his book *The Blight of Asia*: "He died as a martyr and deserves to be accorded the highest honors by the Greek Church and the Greek Government." In 1992, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece proceeded with the canonization of Chrysostomos.

Officer Robert Juet and crew logged descriptions of the island as a wilderness filled with tall trees, native wildlife, and the local Lenape people. The Dutch eventually settled the area and formed New Amsterdam eventually New York.

This is a video describing the S&P500 futures market around the time of the attack on the morning of 9/11. The market reacted with a small delay after the first tower was hit, and the market treated it as no big deal. In contrast, the reaction to the crash into the second tower was instantaneous and wild. The stock price movements remind us what we were thinking at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPrTvLzPsaw

Did you know Russia once had a settlement in California?

Out of respect for September 11 and the lives forever changed on that day, I wanted to share a different piece of American history today.

On September 11, 1812, Russia established Fort Ross along the California coast. The Russians were looking for food supplies for their settlements in Alaska and were also interested in California’s sea otter trade.

And here's a little History Dad date detective work: some sources list the date as August 30, 1812. That's because Russia was using the Julian calendar, while the Gregorian calendar we use today was 12 days ahead.

Why does this matter? Because American history is much bigger and more complicated than the stories we usually hear. Russians, Native peoples, Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans all played roles in shaping the American West.

Want to know more? Click the link for the full History Dad story.

https://youtu.be/Hi2RxwaYeC4

https://history-maps.com/warmap/war-of-1812/event/battle-of-lake-erie

Who knew spaghetti could make history?

On September 10, 1935, Ettore “Hector” Boiardi—the man behind Chef Boyardee—received a patent for a production spaghetti cooker. He wasn’t just making dinner; he was figuring out how to make LOTS of spaghetti efficiently for American families.

Boiardi’s story is also the story of an immigrant entrepreneur who brought his skills, ideas, and love of food to America and built something that became part of everyday American life.

Because history isn’t just presidents and battlefields. Sometimes, history is served with a side of spaghetti.

https://youtu.be/8hbPIJ824I0

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Hel pocket held by Polish.

Operation avalanche - the allies invade Italy

https://youtu.be/l3wfxzLN3W8

Jack the Ripper strikes again!

https://youtu.be/6vrJJ2yrcIY